If you need a St. Jude donation receipt, the safest option is to request the official acknowledgment from St. Jude or its fundraising organization; a blank template cannot serve as an official receipt for a gift to St. Jude. The printable form below is a generic record for organizing donation details, not proof that St. Jude received a payment or an authorized St. Jude tax receipt.
What a St. Jude Donation Receipt Is
A donation receipt, also called a charitable contribution acknowledgment, records that an organization received a contribution. It typically identifies the donor, the recipient organization, the date and amount of a cash gift, and whether the donor received anything in exchange. A receipt may be sent by email, included with a letter, or made available through an online donor account.
St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is supported through ALSAC, its fundraising and awareness organization. Because of this relationship, an official confirmation or payment record may use the name ALSAC as well as, or instead of, the hospital’s name. Check the details on the confirmation and payment statement rather than assuming that a different-looking organization name means the gift went to an unrelated charity.
A document someone makes independently should not be presented as though St. Jude issued it. The hospital or its authorized fundraising organization is the source to ask for confirmation of a gift. The generic template in this article is useful for keeping personal records or drafting an internal record for an organization that is actually authorized to acknowledge a donation.
How to Get an Official Receipt
For a recent online gift, first look for the confirmation email sent after the transaction. Search the inbox used during checkout for terms such as “St. Jude,” “ALSAC,” “donation,” or “receipt,” and check spam or promotions folders. If the gift was made through a fundraising page, workplace campaign, event, or another intermediary, the receipt may come from the organization that processed the payment rather than directly from the hospital.
If the confirmation is missing, contact St. Jude through its official website or the contact information on a genuine donation confirmation. Give the support team enough information to locate the transaction, but do not send full payment-card numbers, passwords, or other unnecessary sensitive details by ordinary email. Useful details may include:
- The donor name and email address entered when the gift was made.
- The approximate date and amount of the donation.
- The payment method type, such as a card or bank transfer, without sharing the full account number.
- A transaction or confirmation number, if one appears on the bank statement or email.
- Whether the gift was made directly, through an event, or through a third-party fundraiser.
For a check or mailed gift, check whether the original acknowledgment was sent to the address included with the payment. If someone else made the donation in your honor, the donor may receive the tax acknowledgment while you receive a separate tribute notification. A tribute notice is not necessarily a receipt and may not state the amount.
What an Acknowledgment Should Show
Review an official acknowledgment for the organization’s identity and contact details, the donor’s name, the date the organization received or processed the gift, and the contribution amount when it was a cash donation. It should also state whether the donor received goods or services in return. Keep the acknowledgment together with the original confirmation and relevant bank or card statement if those records help establish what happened.
For a noncash contribution, the charity generally describes the donated property rather than assigning a value to it. Donors and charities have different roles in documenting and valuing property, so do not add a value to an official receipt unless the organization has provided or confirmed it. If a gift involved a ticket, merchandise, a meal, or another benefit, the acknowledgment may need to describe that benefit and its value or estimated value.
Names and amounts should match the transaction record. If the gift was made jointly, through a donor-advised arrangement, or by a business, ask the organization how it recorded the contribution before requesting a change. A receipt showing the person who clicked “donate” may not be sufficient to resolve every question about who made the gift or how it should be recorded.
Generic Donation Receipt Record Template
Use this blank form to organize a donation record or as a draft for an organization authorized to acknowledge its own contributions. It is not an official St. Jude form and must not be altered to imply that St. Jude issued it. Do not use it as a substitute for an official acknowledgment when you need confirmation of a St. Jude donation.
| Field | Entry |
|---|---|
| Organization receiving the contribution | |
| Organization mailing address or contact | |
| Donor name | |
| Donor mailing address or email | |
| Date contribution was received | |
| Contribution type and description | |
| Cash contribution amount, if applicable | |
| Goods or services provided in return | |
| Organization representative or record reference |
Sample only — fictional details: Example Children’s Fund; donor Jordan Example; received October 12, 2026; cash contribution $25; no goods or services provided in exchange. This example is invented and is not connected to St. Jude.
Using the Form Without Confusing It for Proof
The form can help you note what you remember about a gift, especially while you wait for a confirmation or when you are organizing paperwork. Enter facts from the transaction record; do not guess at the date, recipient, amount, or benefit received. If a field is unknown, leave it blank and follow up with the organization rather than filling it with an assumption.
For a St. Jude gift, keep the actual confirmation from the official organization as the primary record. You can write a separate personal note that links the gift to a campaign or tribute, but label it clearly as your own record. If you manage a fundraiser, state who collected the money and who issued the receipt. A fundraising page may collect money for a cause without making the page owner the recipient charity or the issuer of the charity’s acknowledgment.
When the payment was made through a third party, contact the processor or organizer shown on the original transaction if St. Jude cannot locate it. Ask whether the contribution was forwarded, whether a fee or benefit applied, and which organization will provide the acknowledgment. Keep any reply with the transaction record. This is especially helpful when a workplace match, event registration, auction purchase, or peer-to-peer campaign changes how the payment is categorized.
U.S. Donation Recordkeeping Basics
In the United States, federal charitable-contribution substantiation rules depend on the amount and nature of a gift. In general, a donor claiming a deduction for a single contribution of $250 or more needs a contemporaneous written acknowledgment from the recipient organization. The acknowledgment generally identifies the contribution and says whether goods or services were provided in exchange. For a noncash gift, it describes the property rather than determining its value.
There are also disclosure rules for certain payments made partly in exchange for goods or services. A fundraising dinner ticket, for example, may include both a contribution and the value of the meal. The organization’s acknowledgment should make clear what the donor received and provide a good-faith estimate when required. Do not assume the entire payment is a charitable contribution just because the event supports a charitable cause.
These are general descriptions, not a determination about an individual return or a particular transaction. Keep original acknowledgments, payment confirmations, and related records, and ask a qualified tax professional about your specific situation. A personal spreadsheet or homemade receipt is not a replacement for documentation from the organization that actually received the contribution.
Common Receipt Problems and How to Handle Them
- No email arrived: Check alternate inbox folders and confirm which email address was used. Then contact the official organization or payment intermediary with the date and amount.
- The name on the payment is unfamiliar: Compare the record with the official confirmation. ALSAC may appear because it is St. Jude’s fundraising and awareness organization; ask the official support channel if the transaction still cannot be identified.
- The donor name is misspelled: Request a corrected record from the issuer. Avoid editing a downloaded receipt yourself, since an altered copy may no longer be a reliable acknowledgment.
- The amount differs from the bank record: Check whether the bank entry is pending, whether a recurring gift was processed separately, or whether the displayed amount reflects a benefit or intermediary. Ask the organization to explain the difference.
- A tribute notice arrived instead of a receipt: The notice may only tell a recipient that a gift was made in their honor. The donor should request their own acknowledgment from the organization that processed the contribution.
Be cautious with unsolicited messages offering to “replace” a receipt if they ask for account credentials or full payment details. Navigate to the organization’s official website yourself instead of following a suspicious link. A legitimate receipt request should not require you to disclose a password or full card number.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I make my own St. Jude donation receipt?
No. You can keep a personal record using the generic template, but only St. Jude or its authorized fundraising organization can confirm that it received your gift and issue its acknowledgment. Do not label a homemade record as an official St. Jude receipt.
Will my St. Jude receipt say ALSAC?
It may. ALSAC is St. Jude’s fundraising and awareness organization, so its name can appear on donor-facing records or payment information. If the transaction is unclear, verify it through St. Jude’s official contact channels.
What if I lost my St. Jude donation receipt?
Search your email and payment records, then contact the official organization or the intermediary that processed the gift. Share the donor email, approximate date, amount, and any transaction reference so staff can look for the correct record.
Does a tribute notification count as a tax receipt?
Not necessarily. A tribute notification may simply tell someone that a gift was made in their honor and may omit the amount. The donor should retain or request the acknowledgment issued for the actual transaction.
Can I use this template to claim a donation?
The template alone does not establish that a charity received a contribution. Keep the official acknowledgment and payment evidence, and consult a qualified tax professional if you need advice about documenting or claiming a particular gift.